Cintronnade rolls to victory in San Gorgonio

ARCADIA, Calif. - Bobby Frankel was a sensational handicapper before he became a Hall of Fame trainer. That background came in handy on Sunday. He looked at the past performances for the Grade 2, $150,000 San Gorgonio Handicap, saw that none of the seven runners had much speed, and figured if he might as well step up and take it.

Cintronnade and jockey David Flores did the rest. Cintronnade got away with a soft opening half-mile of 47.72 seconds, began to draw away from her rivals with a 22.86-second third quarter, then kept on rolling for a three-length victory in the 1 1/8-mile turf race for older fillies and mares.

Rahys Appeal finished second, three-quarters of a length in front of favored Three Degrees.

Cintronnade ($11.20) completed 1 1/8 miles in firm turf in 1:46.80 for her fifth win in eight starts. She won the Skirball Stakes at Hollywood Park in her previous start.

David rode a good race, Frankel said. I think shes going to be a good filly as we go along.

Shes won on the lead before and I was able to get a good position today, Flores said. Down the backside, she seemed very confident and I was able to take my time. When we got to the three-eighths, I wasnt going to wait for anybody. I just let her roll and she ran a great race.

Frankel has won four stakes at the 10-day-old meet. This was his eighth win in the San Gorgonio.

Cintronnade, 4, is a daughter of Lemon Drop Kid who was bred and is owned by Frank Stronach.